Nebraska’s football frustrations may be the first thing plenty of fans think about, but the Huskers spent this athletic year making noise everywhere else.
Men’s basketball delivered the program’s first-ever NCAA Tournament win and pushed all the way to the Sweet 16. Women’s basketball kept its March Madness streak rolling.
Baseball hosted a regional for the first time in more than a decade. Softball reached the Women’s College World Series.
Volleyball won the Big Ten and made a deep NCAA Tournament run. Even football, after years of consecutive losing seasons, got to its second straight bowl game.
That collection of results is exactly why Nebraska landed so high in CBS Sports’ ranking of all 68 Power Four schools from the 2025-26 seasons. Cody Nagel put the list together using advanced metrics, scoring each school across six sports: football, men’s basketball, women’s basketball, baseball, softball and volleyball.
“Each school received a score in six sports: football, men's basketball, women's basketball, baseball, softball and volleyball,” Nagel wrote. “Each sport was scored using the following formula: (0.3 × (regular-season win percentage × 100)) + (0.7 × postseason score). That means 30% of a team's score came from regular-season success, while 70% came from postseason performance.”
Nagel also noted that conference tournament results were left out because they varied too much. The rankings then assigned postseason values for milestones ranging from bowl eligibility and NCAA Tournament appearances all the way up to national championships.
When the numbers were totaled, Nebraska came in fifth nationally with a score of 49.58. The only schools ahead of the Huskers were Texas at 66.73, Alabama at 53.27, Michigan at 50.09 and Texas A&M at 49.80.
That finish was different from the Governor’s Cup, which recently had Nebraska at 19th, since CBS Sports’ model does not include sports such as tennis and track and field.
Still, the overall picture for the Huskers was clear: this was a year loaded with success across the department, and Nebraska came within striking distance of climbing even higher.
With football and basketball seasons ahead, the Huskers will get another shot at boosting their standing in the 2026-27 rankings.
In Other News...
Wisconsin May Be Walking Straight Into Nebraskas Worst Nightmare
Wisconsins search for its next athletic director has apparently led it back to a name Nebraska fans know all too well. Shawn Eichorst, now deputy athletic director and COO at Texas, is being targeted for the job, a development that immediately brings up his run in Lincoln and the choices that set the Cornhuskers on a far rougher path than anyone there expected.
Eichorsts Nebraska tenure is remembered for the decision to move on from Bo Pelini and hand the program to Mike Riley, followed by a string of staff moves and football decisions that drew heavy criticism. For Wisconsin, the appeal may be obvious on paper, but for Nebraska followers the idea of another Big Ten rival placing its future in Eichorsts hands is the kind of reminder that old wounds in college football rarely stay closed for long. [Read more 🡒]
Dylan Raiola Is Reopening An Old Nebraska Wound At Oregon
CBS Sports put Oregons quarterback room at No. 1 in the country, and part of the reason was familiar to Nebraska fans: Dylan Raiola is now in Eugene, where his presence gives the Ducks a level of depth most programs would love to have. The former Cornhuskers move has already become part of the national conversation around Oregons offense, with his experience and upside helping sell the idea that this is more than a one-man operation.
For Nebraska, the sting is less about the ranking itself than what it says about the talent now sitting elsewhere. The Huskers were not included among CBS Sports top 10 quarterback rooms, while Raiolas transfer only sharpens the contrast between the two programs entering the season. Oregon looks loaded at the position, and Nebraska has to watch from a distance as one of its old wounds gets reopened in a very visible way. [Read more 🡒]
Fred Hoiberg Just Delivered Nebraska A Huge Summer Boost
Summer workouts have given Nebraska a much-needed encouraging update on two rotation pieces, with Fred Hoiberg offering a clearer picture of where Connor Essegian and Pryce Sandfort stand as the Huskers build toward the new season. For a program trying to turn offseason progress into real momentum, getting important contributors back on the floor matters almost as much as anything else in July.
Sandfort is still being managed carefully after offseason surgery, but the expectation is that he will be fully ready by the start of the season, while Essegian is already back in full participation. With both players tracking toward meaningful roles again, Nebraska can spend the rest of the summer focusing less on rehab and more on how the pieces fit when the games finally count. [Read more 🡒]